


MEKA Gaming

by Courageinabox



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aka Hana needs more spotlight so here it is, Attempts to be canon compliant but I do what I want, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Gender Identity, I dont know much about the gameplay of Starcraft, I dont want to spoil anything but hey Hana is trans and will figure it out eventually jsyk, LGBTQ Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overwatch - Freeform, POV Third Person, Post-Fall of Overwatch, Pre-Canon, Tags Are Hard, Teenagers, Trauma, War, Young Adults, hana is an accomplished adult and i respect her, i pretend to know things about the gameplay of starcraft, transgender character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-03 10:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8708437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Courageinabox/pseuds/Courageinabox
Summary: Hana Song’s father taught her to play Starcraft, and that became her job, life and persona; it eventually got her into the MEKA division of the military. Hana Song has been marketed as a girl gamer and a strong young woman for her whole career, and it has taken too long to question what she has become.Hana's life as she grows from an amateur gamer to a professional one, to a young soldier who must fight for her home.





	1. Initiate

Hana has no memory of being a toddler, stumbling to her father’s arms while he beckoned his “little princess” closer. Her wide eyes were fascinated by controllers and computer mouses and the flashing lights of TV screens. As Hana grew, she came to understand how important gaming culture was to South Korea, and it felt natural that her father taught her to play when she was old enough.

In her opinion, her dad’s tastes could be _too_ archaic at times (he called them nostalgic). Some of the worse graphics were so bad they were funny, especially compared to modern games. Hana’s father argued that the games had class, and Hana had to agree that it kept her well-versed in a variety of genres (across systems both current and obsolete). Of course, the meaning in it came from the act of doing it with her family, copyright dates aside.

Hana found the same wonder in video games that she found in books and learning. They were a widening of her world, an expansion on her horizons. She remembered bits of learning puzzle games and platformers, eventually graduating to shooters and Starcraft.

Her father had always loved Starcraft, and while Hana didn’t pick it up immediately, her interest was certainly piqued. She wanted to understand why it made her father happy, and as she grew older, she got better. Trying to race to be better than her father taught her that things were not as easy as that, and not all fathers always let you win.

At twelve, Hana was in love with Starcraft.

 

* * *

 

A deep sigh ran through Hana as she stared with unblinking, defunct exasperation at the computer screen. Her younger sisters ran through the room yelling for the fourth time in ten minutes, departing just as fast. Hana pushed back from the computer desk, chair bumping to a stop at the edge of the carpet as she unplugged the headphones and dropped them down to rest on her shoulders.

It was getting very old for Hana to mournfully consider how much she wanted her own room, and her wish for privacy. When she was small, she had been alright with sharing a room with her youngest sister, enjoying the constant kinship and wanting to be a good example to the smallest of the Songs. But as Hana and her sisters grew older, that had become a distant wish of a different Hana.

Sliding on yellow high-tops, Hana grabbed her jacket and purse off the back of the bedroom door, sliding past her siblings on the way down the hall and heading downstairs. Each time the thick soles hit the wooden stairs, there were resounding _slaps_ , as Hana made her way to the study to pop in and inform her mother that she was going out, and yes she would be back before dinner. Hana pulled her headphones up and plugged them into her phone, swinging the front door open. She squinted slightly as the sun glared at her and stepped out onto the front stoop.

Without looking, she pulled up a random playlist and shoved her hands into her pockets, settling in step with the beat.

Sometimes it just seemed inconvenient to Hana’s goals that there were always people running around distracting her. Hana was very particular about what she wanted, whether it was playing Starcraft for hours or studying a certain science topic. Oftentimes, she did the latter between games of Starcraft.

It was convenient that there was both an arcade and a PC bang nearby, virtual havens for someone with Hana’s interests. The people running the PC bang hardly glanced at Hana more than once after the first few times she’d been there, apparently accepting of the fact that a girl of her age wanted to play high-powered computers for several hours each week. Today, one of the workers waved hello to Hana, and she politely waved back while passing by on her way to her usual seat.

She unplugged her headphones from her phone and transferred them to the PC. Tapping in her login, Hana settled down to play Starcraft uninterrupted.

 

* * *

  

The hours always seemed to pass too fast for Hana, never climbing leaderboards fast enough for her ambition. Once, during her session, the boy in the seat next to her’s (couldn’t have been much older than she was, Hana reckoned) glanced over, then slid his chair to get a closer look at Hana’s screen. A smile was playing on Hana’s lips as she sat back, pleased with the outcome of the game, as the boy’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he pointed at Hana’s username on the leaderboard.

“That’s you?” He asked, incredulous.

Hana nodded, a twinge of pride in her chest as he stared at her while he slowly scooted back to his computer.

Sometimes people were not shocked- sometimes people were unkind, whispering words that not even the worst bullies at school often said. It made Hana feel small and breathless, but she never gave the satisfaction of letting them think she’d heard.

Once, as older boys muttered angry things and Hana turned up the volume on the computer, she heard over the background music a very upset voice. Hana tentatively slid her headphones off one ear to see a much older girl, probably late high-school-aged, standing, chair roughly pushed back behind her.

She was telling off the boys nearest her, snapping things at them that made Hana’s eyes widen.

When the girl finished, her gaze turned to Hana, who was very still. The other girl’s eyes were not angry now, but concerned, and Hana hesitantly offered a small smile.

The girl seemed to relax, smiling back and sitting again, and Hana changed her regular spot to one near where this girl, and this girl’s friends sometimes sat. She never got the courage to say more than a few words to the other girls, but there was a silent understanding between them all.

Hana swore she would never give anyone the satisfaction of thinking they had hurt her, followed up by the fact that she would kick their asses otherwise.

 

* * *

 

Hana preferred spending her afternoons playing Starcraft, as opposed to practicing Omnic attack drills. There were alarms at school, at the mall, everywhere in Busan. When the alarms went off at school, there was always a moment of undiluted fear before the teachers calmly stood, bastions of relief. The teachers were always told about drills ahead of time; their composure meant there was nothing to be scared of. They ushered everyone from the classrooms, down to reinforced basements where the students sat in assigned lines on a chilly floor.

Sitting cross-legged, scrunched between her classmates, Hana preferred to pull up her hood and find something interesting to read on her phone. It made it easier to pretend that the drill was not as long as it felt. It was much easier than considering the reasons the alarms might sound when the teachers were not prepared, and what it might feel like to see the color drain from their faces.

The Songs lived far enough inland that Hana had never seen an Omnic attack personally (but they were always on TV). The few times the alarms went off, Hana remembered her parents tense expressions as they bundled her and her sisters into the car and off they went to stay with family for many days, sometimes weeks. Hana had seen the stores of water and canned food in boxes in the basement at home, the endless batteries and flashlights and blankets, and she knew what they were for. Hana understood why the buildings in the city were often not the same after the alarms blared. Hana preferred to put on her headphones and pretend, but she knew.

While off at the homes of distant family, relatives cooed over Hana and her sisters, marveling at how beautiful the girls were getting, asking Hana’s older sister if she had a crush on anyone, ruffling Hana’s hair and saying in response to her snark that Hana would be a heartbreaker. An independent girl. A tomboy.

Her sisters would pull her away from other things to play card games, and Hana obliged sometimes just so they couldn’t say she always didn’t. if they asked when they were home, Hana would’ve said yes.

They never asked at home, when things were normal.

Hana was never as good at cards as she was at Starcraft.

 

* * *

 

When Hana was a little older, she decided to try and stream.

The difficult thing was, it was dejecting to stream without an audience.

At the least, Hana learned which of her friends were legitimately interested in video games and which weren’t, and usually she could count on a few of them to watch awhile. Hana became accustomed to starting a stream and talking the whole time she played like she was being watched, regardless if there was actually an audience.

It was in the spring when Hana opened her stream yet again, smiling widely to greet two viewers and prepared for a set of difficult matches.

Hana blocked out everything else when she played, especially the viewer counter on the stream. Sometimes she tried not to look at it at all, but in-between games it was too tempting. Taking a sip of water, she clicked over to it just for a peek, and nearly spit her water out on live camera.

_Twenty-six_ people were watching her, and she’d hardly been playing a half an hour.

Hana played it off, smiled more, thanked her viewers, and settled down for the next game. She reminded herself to keep going and stay on the ball, ignore the counter. At every moment of pause Hana snuck another look, watching it slowly tick upwards.

When she prepared to log off, Hana profusely thanked her viewers and reminded them when she would stream next. With one hand she waved while the other ended the stream, and Hana gaped at the final count when the camera light winked out.

Fifty-three.

 

* * *

 

The next time Hana streamed, she hit thirty-six before the first match was even finished. With each stream, Hana found she was gathering more and more reception. The chatbox was flashing by too fast for her to check sometimes, cheering her on, wondering how a girl as young as her was so good at Starcraft. They asked to play with her, about her life, lauded her like she was someone better than she really was.

Hana itched to stream more often, if only to keep their attention, and blew through schoolwork a little quicker just to get more time.

Soon, Hana had memorized the usernames of her eighty or so regulars, thanking them on stream, learning to recognize more. It was comforting when her regulars started to self-moderate the chat, shooting down the rude people and disgusting comments before she could. Hana felt like she’d hit a million milestones when she formally crowned a few moderators.

Hana believed that if she kept at it, things could only get better, even if it was only marginally.

 

* * *

 

Hana vividly remembered the girls she had seen at the PC bang, remembered their sharpness in response to bigotry. Hana tried to embody that when she ran into the awful people.

She had a distinct memory of one of the first times she’d used voice chat, met with deep, gravelly voices that made fun of the pitch of her’s. Methodically, Hana reported and blocked them, smiling at her audience and telling them _“haters don’t get to me”._

Her father told her when she complained that sometimes people were just unkind, and she shouldn’t let them get to her. She was no less for being young, or being a girl, or doing what made her happy.

Hana was streaming with just over one hundred people watching when the condescending voice hit her ears, interrupting her as she tried to make a call-out to her team.

“Little girl, get off your daddy’s computer. This isn’t a game for pussies.”

Hana felt her heart skip a beat, suddenly the small girl in the PC bang again, wishing someone else would stand up for her.

Then she remembered that wasn’t the way it needed to work.

“Then you had better get off!” Hana snapped back.

There was a moment of silence in the voice chat before background voices laughed, gave childish _“oooh”_ sounds, and other remarks started to fly. Hana slapped the key to mute it, glancing to her stream’s chatbox.

She felt a little color rise to her cheeks as she saw her fans reeling in the viscous comment, calling for her to kick that guy’s ass.

Hana refocused on the game, face set into a determined expression, and began a constant harassment of the other player. At every opportunity, she proved she was better than him, all the way until she ended much higher on the leaderboard than him.

When she said goodbye to her viewers, she said nothing about the incident, merely thanking them for their support before she logged off.

The next day, when Hana came online, she found her inbox nearly full. Half were supportive messages from fans, saying the stream had been great and her comeback awesome. The rest were hateful and curse-filled, and Hana carefully selected each of them and hit delete.

Hana never spoke of it to anyone, but she did not forget. Nor did she forget the silence in the wake of her attitude; being strong got her places.

Slowly, the cockiness and confidence would translate not just into her gaming persona, but into real life. She would need it.

 

* * *

 

On her birthday, Hana asked her parents for two things: a personal gaming setup and her own room. Over the past few weeks, she had sneakily displayed all of her hard-earned prestige to her parents, displaying rankings and streaming, rambling about her viewers, and trying to prove she had a reputation and she could go somewhere with this.

They made Hana promise to focus on school, too, but granted both wishes.

Hana bounced gently on her bed, gazing around her room, her _new_ room, with all of her things reorganized in the new space. The walls were pink, with accents of blue, her blankets and pillows white with pink patterns, video games posters adorning the walls. White-painted bookshelves housing novels, textbooks and video games alike, alongside childhood keepsakes and souvenirs. Not too close but not too far from her lamp, the main light source in the room, was the desk with her prize setup. Hana smiled softly at the bunny rabbit sticker she’d stuck on the side of her PC.

Three months later, Hana entered her first tournament as D.Va.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was interesting and/or enjoyable! I truly love Hana and think she deserves a lot more recognition beyond the gremlin jokes, as she's really a remarkable young person and should be seen as such.  
> Please let me know what you think (or let me know if I messed up some grammar somewhere), and hopefully I should have another chapter up soon!
> 
> Also, let me know your opinion of the title! I'm extremely particular about titles and thought that the play on MEKA/meta gaming might be suitable, but as I'm not 100% sold I'm curious for feedback there as well.


	2. Recruit

Hana played her first real competition from home. She had firmly told her sisters that today was the day she could not be disturbed, and so far her wishes were being obeyed. It was hard to not bounce in her chair or rap her fingers on the keyboard, her heart in her throat at the sheer excitement of it all. And when it had begun, Hana became D.Va. D.Va was confident, and her most common expression was a smirk. D.Va made decisive calls, careful choices, and was entirely focused on the game. But she let herself revert to Hana at a few moments, rolling back and forth a little in her chair, anticipation electrifying her. Hana was the one who swore quietly, but D.Va laughed. Hana could show, because this was just a test run and there was no camera on her. D.Va pretended the camera was on at all times, as practice for the future.

Hana placed alright, but D.Va wanted more.

D.Va wanted to get better quicker, and the only way to do that was to keep trying. Eventually, she started streaming her competitions, ambitions propelled even further by the positivity of her fans. More signed on as she kept competing, and slowly but surely, Hana was making strides.

Her first few wins, Hana was too awed to even comment, sitting back wide-eyed and gaping at the screen before a huge smile grew on her face and she spun a few times in her chair. When they kept coming, D.Va started to immediately smile and cheer, talk of strategies, and keep the audience riveted. Privately, she wondered: Just how far could she go?

“Is this easy mode?” D.Va teased to the growing number of spectators. The pink aesthetic, manifested in makeup and bunny ears, became D.Va’s calling card and her theme. People talked. Had you seen the small, cocky girl taking Starcraft and eSports by storm?

Hana proudly told her family of her accomplishments, earning hugs and hair ruffles, but also quiet and firm reminders to not forget other things. She didn’t, to her credit. Hana passed her classes and started begging her parents to let her go a little further, compete in events of growing size and reputation.

Hana knew very well that there had been a time in the past when female gamers only got noticed in female-only tournaments; luckily, most of that time had passed, but Hana skipped as many female-only tournaments as she could and fought for the others. She knew she was as good as any boy and was determined to not be confined by something as dumb as her gender.

Sometimes Hana found herself second-guessing on the gender topic, but she didn’t know how to explain or rationalize it. Most of the time she didn’t know what about it made her pause. But every day she donned pink and enjoyed putting on makeup, and those things reminded her who she was.

D.Va kept winning, and Hana’s reputation kept growing.

Her sisters were fascinated at how recognizable Hana was becoming. It was slowly more difficult for Hana to keep up with the news that ran about herself, too. Mostly it was small articles, written on minor blogs and posted on gaming forums, especially in the Starcraft community, but it was hard for more to not notice an outlier like her. It made Hana proud, more than anything. She was making waves.

At one tournament (D.Va placed well), Hana ended up with a friend.

She had talked to plenty of fellow players in all the competition she’d done, although rarely did a true friendship form. But Hana had liked Jisu ‘wcSprinG’ Choi from the start, watching him greet the other players with a friendly smile. Hana’s side had beaten him out in the amateur tournament they competed in, but it did nothing to dimish Jisu’s positivity. Hana saw him come around and talk to everyone who had competed, and she noticed that he was also almost as young as her.

They greeted each other, and Jisu complimented Hana on her playing.

“I’ve seen a bit of you before, it was great to finally witness it in person.” His smile was gentle and genuine.

Hana grinned. “Thank you. You’re a good team player- I’ve seen a lot of people be pretty rude to others, especially when someone as young as you or I am playing.”

“They really don’t like being beaten by kids.” Jisu shrugged. “I wish you luck in the future.”

“The same to you,” Hana replied. She and Jisu exchanged social media handles, and after a while of talking to him online, they exchanged phone numbers as well. Hana generally didn’t go out of her way to befriend other players from competitions, as most of them were a lot older than her. She had plenty of friends and allies, of course; they just happened to be her age and not competitive players. In this case, however, Hana didn’t mind making an exception for Jisu.

Jisu lived in a different suburb of Busan, but he and Hana kept in contact, sending photos and chatting about school and games. They played Starcraft and other games together when it was convenient.

Jisu texted her one day, inviting her to an arcade in Busan. Hana accepted and threw on her jacket, heading out of the house to catch a bus.

 

* * *

 

 

Hana frequented many arcades. She generally preferred computer gaming, but there was a certain appeal to arcade games and the atmosphere the arcade itself provided. She waited for Jisu in a corner near a bank of remastered PacMan machines, a game that was absolutely ancient but apparently a total classic, bouncing on her heels a bit as she waited.

When Hana looked down at her glowing phone screen to quickly update her online status, she looked back up to find Jisu smiling at her.

“Hey!” Hana chirped as she stowed her phone. “How are you?”

“I’ve been pretty good. You know, I bet I can beat you on half the games here.”

“No way!”

 

* * *

 

 

Half the arcade later, Hana and Jisu were neck-in-neck with wins. Hana stubbornly but playfully informed him before and after each game that she was totally going to win at this and he had just better give up now. Jisu laughed every time and teasingly replied that D.Va shouldn’t count her eggs before they hatched.

Hana stuck her tongue out at him, now skipping up to the infamous Dance Dance Revolution machine. Technically, this particular machine wasn’t called Dance Dance Revolution, but some other off-brand name.  No one called it anything but DDR anyways.

Hana hopped up onto the dance pad, stomping the closest arrow to wake the machine up. “C’mon, bet you I get a B or higher!”

“You can’t be good at everything,” Jisu pointed out as he stepped up onto the other pad.

“Or can I?” She shot a sneaky grin his way as she started using her right foot to tap down through the songs. Jisu merely sighed as Hana selected a song, and promptly chose the hard difficulty.

“I’m not warmed up.” Jisu complained as the machine loaded up the song and told them to prepare.

“There are no warm-up games in Starcraft, so none here!” Hana quipped, reaching back to grab the support bar and prepare for the direction arrows.

“Starcraft is not an aerobic activity-” Jisu managed before the arrows starting flying and full concentration was required.

 

Hana was small and nimble enough for this kind of game. She certainly wasn’t as practiced at DDR as she was at shooters, but there was a certain amount of rhythm that regular gamers acquired that extended to other genres. The few glances she got at Jisu showed her that he had a different play style, keeping himself firmly upright without use of the bar. Hana, on the other hand, was up only by virtue of her grip, her feet keeping the patterns like a whirling dervish.

When the song ended with a final hit, Hana’s feet came to a stop on the pad with a resounding clap as well. She leaned back against the bar, huffing.

A sideways look at Jisu revealed he was leaning back too, also winded.

“Warmed up now?” Hana remarked, and Jisu let out a single breathless laugh.

Hana’s attention returned to the game as the results screen loaded, displaying a firm B+ for the both of them.

“Good thing this thing has nearly endless rounds.” Jisu leaned over to tap the arrow for next on Hana’s pad. “I get to choose the next song, yeah?”

Hana hopped to the edge to give him space and watched Jisu examine each song on the list, listening to the samples anywhere from ten seconds to half a second.

Finally, he found one that apparently pleased him, and hit the select, hopping back to his own pad.

“Hard is good.” He informed her, Hana already ticking down to choose something challenging. “Bet you can’t get zero misses.”

“Bet you can’t either!” Hana answered as she focused in.

“You’re on!”

 

* * *

 

 

Some time later, after the pair of gamers wore out every machine in the arcade, the two went to a nearby café to relax.

“I don’t like draws, but I’ll take it in this case.” Hana winked at Jisu as they sat at the high bar stools.

“I think I’ll accept it as well.” Jisu’s smile was coy as he studied the drink menu on the wall. “Nice job.”

Hana gave Jisu a playful slap on the arm. “You too.”

An employee came over to take their orders, and when they went to pay, Hana and Jisu both reached for their pockets.

Jisu was a bit quicker, pulling out his wallet. “I’ve got it, Hana.”

“Are you sure?” Hana raised an eyebrow. “I can pay for myself.”

He waved her off as he pulled money out. “It’s my pleasure.”

Hana chose to let it go, glancing over as Jisu set his wallet down and a card slipped out, falling off the counter and to the floor.

While Jisu paid, Hana hopped down to pick the card up. Using her nails to get it off the tile floor, Hana unconsciously glanced over it and narrowed her eyes with confusion.

It was an ID, worn enough that it was probably several years old. Hana’s confusion came from the fact that the photo wasn’t Jisu at all, but a girl.

Straightening, Hana hopped back on the stool and set the card on the counter. “Who’s in that photo?” Hana queried.

Jisu was just putting the change in his wallet, and glanced down to see what Hana was referring to. He tensed ever so slightly, and Hana watched as he frowned and slid the card over to put it back in his wallet.

“Sorry, that’s not my business-” Hana automatically backtracked, realizing she might be invading Jisu’s privacy.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Jisu assured as he stuck his wallet back in his pocket. “It’s me. I...used to look pretty different. I had long hair and stuff.”

Hana was quiet for a moment, examining her nails as two and two went together in her head. There was a serious tone to Jisu’s voice that hinted what he was talking about. “Oh, alright. You didn’t have to tell me, but, thank you for trusting me with that.” Hana answered. Jisu wasn’t the first or only transgender person Hana knew, and it made no difference to her. Hana knew that once, a long time ago, people had been more bigoted and not taken it so well. At least amongst those Hana knew, that was no longer true.

“Thank you for not making a big deal of it.” Their orders were slid across the counter to them.

Hana picked up her drink, smiling softly. “There’s better things to make big deals out of. Like that new PC game that’s coming out-?”

 

* * *

 

 

Hana found kinship in Jisu- that day and others. Hana was more fiery than him, but they both liked the same things and understood the same struggles. People regarded them in similar ways, and both of them faced the same kind of insults. They each found their own way to rise up against it, and exchanged that with each other. It made Hana feel stronger when she shared with someone who really got it.

Hana and Jisu met up periodically, introduce each other to more friends their age. Rarely did they compete against each other, but when they did, Hana made it a point to shoot him a knowing wink. Afterwards, he’d come and shake her hand like they didn’t know each other, and they would smile. Their little inside joke.

On the best day of Hana’s life so far, she had spent the last hour rushing around the house, shouting to her family about her new future. She realized amidst her nonstop excitement that she _had_ to tell Jisu, had to tell all her friends, and stormed upstairs to her room. Snatching her phone up from its resting place on her desk, Hana’s fingers flew as she typed the message to nearly everyone she knew.

_i got signed on a pro team!!!_ _★_ _._ _★_ _★_ _._ _★_ _★_ _._ _★_ _!!! d.Va’s finally getting to the big leagues!!!!_

 

A myriad of replied promptly popped up, congratulating her, but Hana tapped over to Jisu; his included a photo of him smiling and shooting a thumbs up.

The caption read:

_would you believe it? she’s not the only one_

Hana’s eyebrows drew together for a moment before realization made her jaw drop and she furiously texted back,

_you too???? guess ill have to wave to you on my way to the top!!!_

 

A reply popped up within moments.

_don’t count your chickens before they hatch hana ;)_

* * *

 

 

D.Va’s first on-stage, pro tournament appearance was not long after. The eSports scene was dying to see what Hana Song was made of, and Hana was ready to show them. She’d dressed carefully for the event, with her favorite thigh-high cat socks and coolest jacket on, pink whiskers draw meticulously on her cheeks.

D.Va caught a glimpse of her friend, in the front row, lined up to compete later, beaming at her. D.Va waved to the crowd with a grin on her face, pausing to shoot a wink at Jisu before settling into her seat.

“I play to win!” She announced and she was met with the roar of her fans on the first step of her rise to true fame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually wrote and edited this chapter awhile ago and proceeded to forget about publishing it. Oops??? Chapter 3 is partially written as well, so with any luck I'll get back on top of this.  
> Please let me know what you think, encouragement and constructive critism means the world to me!!


	3. Neophyte

 Hana found certain TV channels more pleasant than others. She thought about it, but never spoke the thoughts, because to most anyone they would sound obvious and a little silly.

There was something to putting on the eSports channels, watching her competitors or seeing re-runs and recaps of herself. There was something else to putting on the news and seeing the new reports on Omnic attacks, on the coastline destruction, on how the Korean military was handling the threat this time.

Hana busied herself with a virtual war instead, although the real one sometimes made its appearance.

Hana attended a going-away party once, a farewell to one of her teammates who was being drafted. It wasn’t at all uncommon; plenty of pro-gamers made a big deal out of being drafted into the military, some promising they would return to compete when their service was over, while others announced it was time for them to move on. Sometimes the promises were kept, or sometimes people came back and decided they were past that. Sometimes, Hana knew, they didn’t have the chance to come back at all.

Hana’s teammates and competitors changed, she watched different gamers online, and tried her best to keep the war at the edges of her world.

Her mother and eldest sister attended one of Hana’s tournaments. D.Va waved as she ascended to the stage, beaming to the crowd and blowing air kisses. The cameras panned a moment to her smiling mother and sister, remarking that D.Va’s family was out to support her. Before the game started, microphones were pushed in Hana’s face, asking her how she felt about today, how she felt about her competitors, what she had to say to the audience.

D.Va responded that she was confident, and while she respected her competitors, she was determined to beat them out. She gave a hand heart to her fans when a different question popped up.

“Do you have anything to say to your family, here to see you today?”

D.Va considered, and then smiled a softer, more genuine smile. “I hope they enjoy watching. And I hope to make them proud of me.”

Hana was sure the cameras switched to see her mother’s reaction, but Hana was already swiveling around to face her computer and prepare. She slid the headphones on and got into the zone. The countdown to start rose above the screaming crowd and D.Va got down to what she did best.

Hana won that day, pumping her fists in the air as the volume rose even louder. Hana rode the excitement of the crowd, pure delight animating her. She and her opponents exchanged niceties, congratulating each other on a game well played. Hana posed for photos and for the satisfaction of the crowd, pausing at the edge of the stage to smile and wave, blowing kisses and throwing peace signs. The spotlights were so bright that Hana couldn’t see the camera flashes, even as she headed off.

After the games she was sat down at long tables where the players smiled for more photos and signed items handed to them by overexcited fans. D.Va boasted the longest line of people, and she smiled and asked the name of each one, writing _Love, D.Va!_ with a flourish on every photo or pass put in front of her.

Once everything was over, Hana, her sister, and her mother went out together. Her sister talked about how crazy it was to have her little sister be so famous; Hana’s mother regarded her with soft smiles and prideful looks. Later, her mother took her hand and told Hana that she was absolutely proud of her.

Those were the things that meant the most to Hana, although she couldn’t deny that it wasn’t amazing to win.

 

* * *

 

 

Soon after being signed to her first pro team, Hana’s parents helped her to acquire an agent. All of them agreed it was fairly essential for someone more versed in the business of fame to be able to help Hana, especially at her age. The best of pro-gamers were regarded as idols, especially young and pretty ones like Hana. Her agent, Miss Jeong-ah, was the best that Hana thought she could’ve hoped for. Miss Jeong-ah taught Hana the best way to work in the unsteady world of gaming and idolhood. She kept Hana on the right path, avoiding contracts with ridiculous stipulations (especially for a young girl) and steered Hana to the right events for the right publicity.

Hana’s mother and father also trusted Miss Jeong-ah to keep an eye on Hana when they could not. Hana argued that regardless of her age, she was responsible and they didn’t need to consider Miss Jeong-ah her babysitter too. Her parents told Hana that they trusted her, it was simply comforting to them that their baby girl wasn’t all on her own.

Miss Jeong-ah helped Hana to schedule interviews and other events. Hana didn’t mind interviews, but occasionally found them tiring. There was certain air of cockiness and sassiness that was integral to her image as D.Va, and while Hana certainly embodied it quite a bit, it was not endless. Different interviews called for a different level of it. Sometimes, D.Va had to stay turned up on high, but others, Hana could be a little more sober and down to earth. She argued that if she acted more like a regular person sometimes, more people would like her, and the results only proved her right.

Hana learned to maneuver the delicate balance between vivacious diva and pleasant teenager. Hana was, all in all, both those things. Although sometimes Hana felt she had to push herself a little, she felt that she was keeping true to who she was. She called D.Va her persona, but she _was_ D.Va.

She got a line of endorsements from companies whose products she talked about- for the most part, Hana legitimately liked the products, but sometimes Miss Jeong-ah convinced her into something that she didn’t necessarily care for, talking of it as good publicity and good money. Hana understood the sacrifices that had to be made and learned a bit of business shrewdness from Miss Jeong-ah, who made some of the best deals in the industry.

As for money, Hana earned a lot of it. For the most part, the money went to her parents, or into a bank account where it could collect interest. But Hana often got things for herself, too, or gifts for her friends. There was something independent about being so financially stable at her age, even though she still lived with her parents and it was hardly a concern.

Amongst Hana’s paid endorsements, she liked to talk about other things she loved without money involved. She talked up her favorite games and systems simply because she _did_ love them, detailed her favorite styles (watching sales of certain things she wore shoot up), and shared her favorite music. Another Starcraft player introduced Hana to the awesome music of Lúcio Correia dos Santos, who was not just a fantastic musician but a freedom fighter for his people. Hana admired his talent and his bravery, and said as much when she was asked what kind of things she listened to.  

(Critics called her talk of Lúcio too political. The gross ones said she was a pretty face and shouldn’t talk politics. Hana took that as a challenge and found ways to bring up Lúcio at almost every interview.)

 

Hana got bigger and Hana got better. She defined it as the best moment of her life when she became the Starcraft champion.

She was fifteen years old.

The matches leading up to it had been the hardest of her life, not to mention the difficulty of the championship itself. Hana didn’t get there on luck; she was skilled enough, but there was no breezing past people who were just as skilled.

No one could decide whether this girl, amazing as she was, would come out on top.

D.Va told everyone who asked that she would simply do her best and that could be enough. Walking onto the stage, Hana felt more butterflies than she had experienced since her first competitions, but she squashed them. She was _D.Va._ She could _win_ , or at the very least, be proud of her accomplishments.

She was fifteen years old when the match came down to its final seconds, everything beyond the game a dull, muted roar behind her. Hana had been playing this for years, her father had taught her, and she _knew_ what she was doing. D.Va mashed the keys harder than she ever had, putting every ounce of her heart and soul into this thing she loved, not pausing for sentiment on how hard she’d worked but living in the moment to know that _she was the best at this thing she did and she would prove it._

And then it was over.

And then it was over, and suddenly everything was on full volume and D.Va blanked out in shock. The onstage announcers were screaming and one of them grabbed Hana’s arm and hauled her to her feet. The chair skittered backwards and Hana very nearly stumbled as her feet found purchase on the stage. Her arm was high above her head unwillingly, the announcer raising her arm into the air to declare her the victor, half-shouting into the microphone just to be heard. Hana stared out at the audience for what felt like the longest moment of her life, unable to blink or comprehend, just hearing her heartbeat in her ears as they screamed _D.Va, D.Va, D.Va_ , and then Hana returned.

She clicked, came back, returned to the moment, to the adrenaline snapping her into action and an unbeatable smile came onto her face. Before anything, Hana slipped away from the announcers, who were reviewing her final play with gusto that was not as practiced as it was awed. She went to her competitor, and offered them a handshake.

“GG.” She said simply, and they shook it.

The photos of the moment would go viral, as would the photos showing Hana parading on the stage, her family and friends in the audience pulled up to join her, giving her hugs. The victory march of the best Starcraft player in the world, Hana Song.

The signings afterwards were so wild that security had to keep pushing the crowd back. Hana smiled and signed and waved to the crowd until her wrists were sore and her voice shot.

The next day, Hana slept until well past noon and read the journals of Dr Mei Ling-Zhou. Two days after becoming the Starcraft champion, Hana deigned to check her phone again.

Her social media had exploded in an indescribable way, her phone filled to the brim with texts and calls. Miss Jeong-ah had called three times to congratulate Hana and tell her to rest and inform her about the sponsorships and deals that was rushing in. Everyone wanted Hana ‘D.Va’ Song, fifteen year old pro-gamer prodigy and reigning Starcraft champion.

Hana texted her best friends, texted Jisu, thanked Miss Jeong-ah, and went to play a board game with her sisters.

 

* * *

 

 

The paparazzi’s interest in Hana skyrocketed. She didn’t let their insistence stop her from going where she wanted, but every time she made plans there was an obligatory warning to her friend or family member that photos of the day would likely end up online.

Occasionally Hana provided impromptu interviews to satiate them; other days she wore sunglasses and acted like they didn’t exist. Her status as a teen celebrity made her parents nervous, and also results in higher hedges being planted around the Song home.

Greeting fans was one of Hana’s favorite things. She could never deny a request for a selfie or an autograph, especially from girls who came to her to say that Hana was their role model, their idol, the girl who had shown up every male gamer who ever talked down on other people. These stories were the ones that touched Hana, as she was always looking up to the ladies who came before her, and now she was the one being looked up to.

Hana very nearly screamed when Miss Jeong-ah called to give her even crazier news. Hana ran down the stairs, yelling at the top of her lungs that she was being offered a movie deal. She begged her parents to say yes, and the Songs couldn’t see anything else to say. Their daughter was achieving her dreams, young or not.

 

* * *

 

 

Every day Hana got up and put herself together, putting on makeup and choosing her clothes. She smiled at herself, took a few pictures to post to social media. Some days she didn’t smile; not all days were as easy or nice as the ones before it, and although Hana’s life was undoubtedly good, everyone had days like that.

Hana was ready to be a movie star, to climb to the next rung of her fame. Jisu told her that there were going to be even more articles dwelling on if Hana was dating someone if she was going to be an actress now. Hana laughed and said that the media would never guess (considering Hana’s lack of a significant other, it was an impossible game).

“This time, you get to see me on the big screen.” Hana informed Jisu when they discussed the movie deal.

She could almost hear the smile that was on his face. “I look forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A prompt update this time, since most of this chapter was already written! It's a bit shorter than the prior ones, but these first three chapters were mostly for setting the stage of Hana's past. Luckily, chapter four is mostly written already as well! It's substantially longer than the first three chapters, and it's where we'll finally get to the meat of Hana's story (the stuff I'm excited to write) - her military career.  
> I'll be updating the tags on the story when other characters are introduced, but until then, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!! I appreciate every hit and kudo, so thank you!  
> Also, big thanks to Emrys, who has been beta reading every chapter so far!


	4. Adept

Being an actress was another kind of fame that Hana never imagined. Suddenly her life was more than stages and computer games, as she was thrust into more glamorous settings. She handled it gracefully, the press said, especially for her age. She gathered herself well and hardly stuttered in interviews, looked wonderful in the fashions she was adorned with. 

Hana liked acting; seeing herself on movie posters, face projecting a dramatic expression, was as funny as it was striking. She’d gone and done something amazing. She’d gone and changed every bit of her life, and she was happy about it.

Robert Greenway and Thespion 4.0 had been pretty nice guys, along with being good co-stars, and Hana occasionally was in contact with them, too.

Acting was never as good as games, though. Hana preferred her comfortable chair and familiar headphones to running around on movie sets and exclaiming dramatic lines. But it was something different, and when asked (everyone asked, every interview somehow involved ‘how does it feel to go from gaming to the big screen?’), Hana said that it was fun, but she wasn’t abandoning Starcraft for it.

 

 

Hana’s fifteen-year-old sister came home with piles of magazines that had Hana on the cover, or a picture of her somewhere inside. Hana walked into her room one evening to find her two younger sisters at the desk, finishing a collage of pictures, all of Hana. There were photos of her from her first competitions, candid pics from the championship and the signing afterward, as well as professional pictures from various occasions and photoshoots. D.va’s logo was display prominently in the center, and Hana beamed and had her sisters help her hang it on the wall.

Hana sometimes flipped through the magazines, glancing over articles to see what people said about her. It was a double-edged sword, to see things about herself, because tabloids were unkind and Hana knew when things she had said were edited into lies. Sometimes a dark feeling gathered in her stomach and made her chest feel tight while she saw herself in the pictures. It made her feel a little like plastic, and Hana eventually found her outlet for the strange and hurtful feelings when she started cutting up the magazines and tossing them into the fireplace.

Hana could never understand why the feelings manifested, and kept her thoughts about it to herself. But there were days where Hana dug into her closet for old, worn clothes that weren’t in shades of pink, even though all of the nicer and prettier clothes in her closet were things she had chosen herself. Some weekends Hana found herself glancing at the clock and realizing she’d been sitting at her computer all day and blocked out the world. There were days where tearing up the magazines with her carefully posed, inorganic photos helped her breathe, and some where they didn’t.

 

Hana’s life was so wildly active that she had little downtime to dwell on these things. Her schedules were often jam packed, and she spent a lot of her free time (the free time at home, anyways) sitting down to stream.

 

Her days were also punctuated by the increasing amount of Omnic attacks. They weren’t happening only in South Korea, but all over the world. Busan was facing more and more danger.

Hana did not speak of it much. When she went online, she smiled and laughed and made jokes for her viewers. It was just as much her escape as it was their’s; it was easy to forget the chaos of the world when D.Va was playing Starcraft, like she always did.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a quiet day in June when Hana was online, her window open, sitting at her desk in a tank top and socks. She’d just opened her stream and was queuing for her next game of Starcraft, mid-story about a girl she’d met at a morning show interview recently.

“And then she asks me about what it was like filming the one quiet scene of _Hero of My Storm –_ the one in the shop, you know – and at this point everyone has asked about the movie, I love to watch videos people make about it to see what so-called easter eggs they’re looking for, behind-the-scenes stuff-”

Hana paused, focusing on the game for a moment, when she realized there was a sound growing outside. It had been quiet, and had started while she was talking, so she could only now hear it.

Hana tapped pause and sat back in her chair, reaching up to lower her headphones around her neck.

Through her open window, the sound came in, echoing across the city. A coldness settled in Hana’s stomach, even though it was plenty warm in her room. It was a scream, a swan song: the city-wide siren, the warning of an Omnic attack.

Hana stared uncomprehendingly out the window for a moment longer before she whipped back around to her computer so hard that she swore her neck would ache.

“My local viewers will understand; it seems I’ve got to get offline early! If you’re on the South Korean coast, stay safe! Till next time!”

Hana forced a smile and threw a peace sign as she closed the stream quickly.

(She was sure someone would rip the footage and gif that, make some worried post talking about D.Va being in danger, and that would eventually climb to the top of her social media dash somewhere. Hana couldn’t care less.)

The second the stream was gone, she threw her headphones to the desk and sent her chair spinning across the floor. There were footsteps on the stairs: her father called her name.

“I’m coming!” Hana shouted back as she shoved her feet into shoes and threw a jacket on. She dragged a bag out of the back of her closet, already heavy with clothes and other essentials prepared. Snatching up her phone and earbuds from the desk, Hana slammed the lights off and bounded down the steps.

Her father was waiting for her, and ushered her in front of him. Hana’s oldest sister was away at school, far away from Busan, leaving Hana and her younger sisters, and their parents. Their mother and father ushered the girls into the car. They were far enough out from the main city, and moving quickly enough, that the evacuation routes would not be crowded yet.

Hana pressed her earbuds into her ears, fingers hovering over videos waiting in her _Watch Later_ list. In the corner, there was a notification about a live news stream for the attack on Busan.

As her mother pulled the car out of the driveway, Hana spared a quick glance at their darkened house, and the skyscrapers of Busan in the distance.

She ducked her head and tapped a game review video as the Songs fled.

 

* * *

 

 

The Songs arrived at Hana’s grandparents’ house several hours later. Her grandparents were out of the country on vacation, leaving the home empty. It was the best place to go right now, away from the coast, away from danger.

Hana set her bag down inside the foyer, staring around, with the emptiness seeming overwhelming. A whim took her and Hana went to the TV, finding the remote and turning it on.

Hana stood and stared at the news, showing footage of the Omnics assaulting Busan. Hana knew those streets, had walked them mere days ago. There was smoke and chaos, newscasters talking rapidly.

“MEKA drones have already been dispatched to counterattack, according to the Exo-Force spokesperson from the army-” The reporter sped on as Hana watched the army mechs appearing in the live footage.

Hana watched for a moment longer, and then turned the TV off.

 

* * *

 

 

That night, Hana was in the back room of the house, curled into a chair, when she heard one of her sisters call something out to their mother. The TV volume went up a few levels, and Hana sat up, pulling out her earbuds.

Carefully, Hana padded toward the sound. She paused in the doorway, peering into the room.

Her mother had her arms around Hana’s youngest sister, and both of them were looking at the television in what Hana could only call horror. Coming around the corner to see the screen, Hana stared at the breaking news, heart in her throat.

The news anchor who was reporting looked agitated; he was pressing against an earpiece and speaking in halted sentences.

“We have- we have breaking news. Breaking news from the coast of Busan, the Omnic enemy has reportedly disrupted the MEKA drone network. There is no further news on what this means for Busan, or what the military is doing in response.”

Hana stood frozen before the television, the voices of the newscasters becoming background noise as she tried to understand what that meant.

Slowly, Hana backed up to the nearest chair and sat herself down. Gradually Hana released her clenched fist before sitting back, curling her knees close, and watching the television with wide eyes.

Her mother was murmuring something, but Hana couldn’t hear it. Her eyes stay locked on the TV; for once, Hana did not flee from it.

 

* * *

 

 

A day and a half later and the Omnics had apparently been repelled, but Busan was in worse shape than it had been in years. The MEKA drones had failed, and no one knew what was going to happen now.

It was also the day that someone miraculously came to see Hana.

“Hana?” Her mother sounded uncertain when she called for her. Hana finished sending out a status update on her social media, trying to keep her viewers’ in good spirits, before coming to the foyer.

“What’s up?” Hana glanced over her mother, who was eyeing her daughter, hands clasped behind her back. There was an unfamiliar woman just inside the doorway, wearing a clean cut jacket, with stern eyes.

The unfamiliar woman extended her hand to Hana.

“Hello, Miss Song, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Lieutenant Yun.”

Hana took the lieutenant’s hand and shook it firmly. “The pleasure is all mine.” Confused, Hana glanced at her mother, who looked just as confused.

“Mrs Song, I would like to speak to your daughter alone, if you do not mind.” Lieutenant Yun said it kindly, but seriously, and her tone asked for agreement.

“Not at all.” Hana’s mother turned and vanished down the hall. Hana’s eyes followed her mother for a moment before jumping back to Lieutenant Yun.

“Please, sit.” Hana ushered the visitor into the living room, and they both took a seat.

Hana sat straight, hands in her lap, in the formal and pretty way she had been taught to. Lieutenant Yun did the same, sitting regulation-straight, eyes betraying nothing.

“I work for MEKA, Miss Song. I am here because of this.” Lieutenant Yun reached into her bag and pulled out papers that she gave to Hana.

Taking them, Hana scanned the page, and her eyes slowly dilated.

Lieutenant Yun spoke in a clinical tone.

“You’ve been drafted.”

Hana’s hands shook slightly as she read the papers. They _were_ draft papers. “Lieutenant Yun, I – I’m afraid there must be a mistake. I’m not – I’m not eighteen yet.” Hana never stuttered across her words in interviews, or when she was on stream, but she was struggling to talk now.

“I understand, Miss Song. But this is not a regular draft, as you are no ordinary person. I assume you are aware of the troubles MEKA is facing.” Lieutenant Yun was still unphased, even as Hana’s insides were shaking.

“Yes, Lieutenant. I am.” Her instincts kept her talking.

“MEKA has devised a new plan. Drone walkers are not longer effective against our enemies, as the Omnics are capable of interfering with the systems. Omnics are not, however, capable of disrupting human pilots. The MEKA walkers are unique systems, and require split-second reflexes. Our research has led us to a conclusion: we need pilots with the most excellent reflexes out there, and we believe that we can find that in you, Hana Song, and other pro-gamers.”

Hana was gaping at Lieutenant Yun. “You – the Mobile Exo-Force? MEKA? I’m not only being drafted early, but you want me to fly a walker and kill Omnics?”

“Do you not believe that you have the skills for it?”

Hana got up, unable to sit still. “I don’t know.” Hana never said she couldn’t do something. She took one step, then two, then moved back. Her mind should have been racing, thinking about her friends and competitors who were drafted, the going-away parties she went to. But none of them were being asked to get into the face of the Omnics like this. Not at seventeen, not at seventeen and a half.

But Hana wasn’t thinking about any of that. Hana’s mind was entirely blank, and when she shifted back to face Lieutenant Yun for what had to be the third or fourth time, her thoughts came into sudden focus.

Hana thoughts were of her viewers. She thought of what her fans told her when they got their chance to talk to her. _D.Va, you mean the world to me. Seeing you makes me confident in myself. You’re my role model. I can forget the things that are sad when I watch you play. You’re my escape. You saved me._

In her clarity, Hana knew that everything she had done was not for herself. She began playing for her own escape, then because she couldn’t let go of her competitive streak. But now, it was because people counted on her escape to be their’s too.

Her fans needed her.

Her country needed her.

Hana turned on her heel and sat down in front of Lieutenant Yun again, hitting the cushions so hard it was like falling.

“I will do whatever I can for my country, Lieutenant Yun.”

Hana might have imagined the gleam that came to Lieutenant Yun’s eyes at Hana’s resolve.

Or she might not have been.

 

Lieutenant Yun extended her hand to Hana again. “I am glad to hear it, Miss Song. You are a very brave young woman.”

Hana shook it again. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

 

* * *

 

 

The news was not so easy to break to Hana’s family.

Hana couldn’t blame them. She put on a stage face, the kind of expression she used when she was keeping a smile on her face and her real tornado of feeling in wraps.

She didn’t smile about this, but she kept calm. Her mask stayed on because she was holding onto one thought.

_My country needs me._

Hana told her parents multiple times that she wanted this. She would operate a mech, she would fight the Omnics.

Her father was reacting badly for the third time when Hana broke her silence to speak.

“Dad, listen. Please.”

All eyes in the room turned to her.

“I’ve spent my whole life seeing the destruction the Omnics cause. This is my chance to do something about it. I want to do this. I want to help save our home. It’s not Starcraft, but-” Hana took a deep breath. “-if my skills, the things you taught me, can make the difference between the life and death of our country, then it is the right thing to do and I want to do it.”

Her father sighed. “I understand, Hana. You’re not a little girl anymore.”

Her mother bit her lip. “If this is what you want, we will support you. We always do.”

 

 

When Lieutenant Yun left, Hana went to find her phone, put on some music, and tuned out.

_My country needs me._

 

* * *

 

 

Hana was unsurprised by the amount of paperwork that came with all of this. Something brought her pause while she was filling out the medical forms; Hana paused over the very top, staring at the box for _gender_.

She didn’t know why.

Everything else was procedure. Hana noticed while she was handling it that she kept biting her nails. It was a nasty habit that she had been staving off for awhile, through the use of nail polish and the fact that her hands were always busy on a mouse or a keyboard.

Hana lowered her hands from her mouth, gazing at her chewed nails.

Silently, she vowed to herself that it was unprofessional and she would stop it.

 

* * *

 

 

By the time that Hana left home, her cheeks and lips had been taking the brunt of her bad habit. If she could not bite her nails, she would bite her lips and the inside of her mouth. Her mouth felt raw, but she hardly noticed.

Hana had been packing for at least a week. That day, she chose an outfit carelessly, something she would be comfortable in.

By now, the media knew full well that Hana Song was not the only pro-gamer announcing her resignation from eSports to join the military. But D.Va was the number one Starcraft player in the world, and so it was the event on everyone’s mind: Hana Song was going to be a hero.

That’s what they said, anyways, Hana thought dryly as she glanced outside at the paparazzi outside the fence.

Her jeans were ripped because it was the style; her jacket was torn because it was worn. She did not paint whiskers on her face, but slid sunglasses on.

Inside the foyer, Hana hugged her parents and sisters goodbye.

“I’ll write, I promise. You’ll hear everything.”

“Everything we’re allowed to hear, I’m sure.” Her mother chuckled.

“Go fight the Omnics, Hana!” Her sisters cheered for her. “Kick their butts!”

Her dad gave her the biggest hug of all. “Be brave, Hana. Be yourself.”

“I will.” Hana murmured.

She gripped the handle of her suitcase and rolled it towards the door. Hana lowered her mirrored sunglasses onto her face and stepped out onto the front stoop.

The camera flashes didn’t start until Hana was halfway down the walk, finally in view of the anxious media. Voices erupted, asking Hana what she was thinking about becoming a soldier, she wasn’t even eighteen yet, what about her career, was she afraid?

It was a silent walk for Hana. She spared them no glances, did not open her mouth. The pictures showed the faces of the photographers reflected in her sunglasses, and Hana’s still and expressionless face.

Hana pressed through the crowd, family behind her, to the car that had been sent for her. Her suitcase safely in the back, Hana slid into the backseat as the reporters pressed in.

As the car pulled away, Hana resisted the urge to look back.

At the last moment, she did, to spare one last look at her home in the afternoon sun, and the skyscrapers of Busan in the distance.

Hana clasped her hands in her lap and looked forward.

Korea needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this chapter was written, and it was, I expected it to go up sooner, but it didn't. Regardless, here we are now!  
> For anyone wondering: I have done some research into the Korean military as basis for this, but please know this is definitely not 100% accurate! There’s only so much I can glean from the reliable places I can find (mostly, actual Korean people), so considering Overwatch is set so far into the future I’m also assuming things aren’t the same as they were in 2017. So, a bit of suspension of disbelief for the sake of fiction is appreciated.  
> But if I’ve obviously and totally messed something up, let me know, because I am trying to make some sense here.
> 
>  
> 
> A large chunk of the next chapter is written, but no guarantees on when it's coming. From here on out we're going to be introduced to a number of OCs who will be filling out the ranks of Hana's MEKA squad. It seems to be a common theme in Hana-centric fics that she is written to be unattached to her squadmates? It could just be that people don't want to write an abundance of OCs, and I can't blame them for that.  
> But I'm quite excited to introduce the gang I've created for Hana's squad! The fic will stay in Hana's POV always, as it is her story, but her friendships with the OCs will be important in her development.  
> Also, from here on out, the chapters are likely going to be much longer and much more dialogue-heavy. I'm excited for all of it - at the moment, this story is planned to have ten chapters and an epilogue, but that's up for debate depending on just how dense the chapters get.  
> Please leave some feedback if you're enjoying this, every hit and kudo and comment means the world to me!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was interesting and/or enjoyable! I truly love Hana and think she deserves a lot more recognition beyond the gremlin jokes, as she's really a remarkable young person and should be seen as such.  
> Please let me know what you think (or let me know if I messed up some grammar somewhere), and hopefully I should have another chapter up soon!
> 
> Also, let me know your opinion of the title! I'm extremely particular about titles and thought that the play on MEKA/meta gaming might be suitable, but as I'm not 100% sold I'm curious for feedback there as well.


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